Plaza Inn Dinner and PTN/fireworks

[valerie160]

I'm finalizing our plans for out trip to DL this summer and I'm overwhelmed with all the information . Hoping for some help...

We'll be finishing up dinner at Plaza Inn right around the time PTN parade will be finishing up and fireworks will be starting. Will we be able to watch from inside the restaurant? I'm okay with catching the second parade, but really want to watch the fireworks. If we finish up dinner early and leave the restaurant as fireworks start, will we get herded out away from Main Street and miss the fireworks all together?

We will also have a dinner reservation at Carnation Cafe another night around 5:30. The Soundsational Parade is at 6:00 that day. Will we be able to watch from inside or be able to step outside to watch?

OR is it not a good idea to schedule meals around parade times because we'll just end up missing everything?

Thank you!

 

[SMD]

You're really not going to see much of the fireworks through the trees at Plaza Inn. When I was waiting for PTN midweek the line for Plaza Inn extended to Tomorrowland, so it's a hard thing to time. If a table opens up inside are you going to ask to wait for an outside table? That will be even harder to time. You'd be better off getting food at a CS place farther from Main St, then bringing it over there with you so you'll be in the area for fireworks, but eliminate the Plaza Inn line variable. At Carnation you can only see the tops of the floats. There is a parade viewing area in front of the patio. If you leave the restaurant you can't stand on the walkway part of the sidewalk, you'd have to find a spot inside the roped viewing area. You'd also have to wait for an outside table as you can't see the parade from inside.

 

[valerie160]

This is so helpful! Thank you! I will figure out different meals times so I can catch the parade(s) and fireworks!

 

[figment_jii]

As SMD said, if you are lucky enough to have an outside table, you can see some of the fireworks from the Plaza Inn, but it's an obstructed view. Much of the seating area is surrounded by fairly tall hedges/plants, so you won't really see everything. The indoor seating won't have much of any view at all.

In terms of Carnation Cafe, it's kind of hit-or-miss whether you see any of the parade or not. About half of the tables are indoors and half are outdoors. If you're seated inside the restaurant, you won't really see anything and they do not encourage/expect guests to leave their table to watch the parade. If you're seated outdoors, you can usually see the tops of the floats, but you won't see anything that is street level because of the guests standing along the parade route. I think of watching the parade as an added bonus to eating at Carnation, but not something you can count on, nor can you say it's a good view.

 

[MadeToLove]

If you are determined to have your fried chicken dinner, you can always request they put it in to go containers and find somewhere to watch the parade and fireworks both (assuming you are willing to sit on a sidewalk for 3+ hours) and dine picnic style.

 

[GatorChris]

We had dinner at Carnation Cafe in November and sat in the outside area. We were able to see the tops of the floats only, which was fine with us. We had already seen the parade, so seeing while eating dinner in this fashion was fine. Had we not seen it, it would've been considered terrible seats.

As for Plaza Inn, there's so many tall shrubs, it'll block most of the parade route. As for fireworks, they'll be at an angle so don't expect to get a HD youtube video view. But a chair's a chair, right?